Habberge district- for tobias kern of the ebern police department, even the weather calls for increased attention: on sunny days, more motorcyclists are on the road. Kern has an eye on this, as a traffic employee he is also responsible in particular for planning motorcyclist checks. Right in front of his "house there is a popular motorcycle (racing) track that attracts bikers from all over the region: the hambach between untermerzbach and ebern.
There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of the nice weather for motorcycle trips, the policeman can understand the pleasure of this hobby. But he also wants to make sure things are safe on the roads. In the serpentines of the hambach, motorcyclists, each spurred on by other bicyclists, regularly try to outdo each other.
Controls in the middle of april
As in previous years, kern, together with colleagues and the support of the motorcycle squad from wurzburg, wants to carry out another rough inspection in mid april: not in order to impose as many and as high fines as possible (although this does of course happen when a machine is not roadworthy), but in order to sensitize motorcyclists: "we talk to people", says kern. Motorcycle safety is a major issue in police work, especially at the beginning of the season, when it is important for bikers to keep their concentration high: motorists first have to get used to motorcyclists again, and vice versa. In addition: if the motorcycle is safe, everything still works perfectly, after it was mothballed in the garage in winter?
Also an important topic: the many "under 40s"-riders among the bikers. "The accident figures show that the age groups 40 to 50 and 50 to 60 clearly stand out." Because it is often said that "it is the young speeders". Some of the "old hares have not been on a motorcycle for years and are now rediscovering their former hobby for themselves. But over the years a lot of driving experience has been lost, so it is worth investing in driver training, for example, says kern.
Werner rottmann from the police inspection habfurt knows the problem. The police have been trying for years to get motorcyclists to take regular driver safety courses, but the response from "re-beginners" has been very poor could be high, as the police note in their traffic safety report for 2017. At least the police will not hesitate to point out that there is no shame in signing up for safety training and that safety "starts in the head", as kern says: "looking ahead, thinking ahead", a lot has already been done.
The number of accidents is rising
Rottmann adds that visibility, such as conspicuous clothing and reflectors, also reduces the risk of accidents: "you should make yourself as recognizable as possible." The goal should be to counteract the increasing number of motorcycle accidents: in habberge county there were a total of 56 accidents involving motorcycles in 2016 (none of them fatal), in 2017 there were 65 (with two fatalities).